White Screen vs Polanthos
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
White Screen
This app transforms your home screen into a clean, focused space by decluttering your phone and reducing distractions. It allows you to add your most-used apps to widgets for quick access, helping you focus on productivity and well-being.
- Minimalist app launcher
- Declutter home screen
- Reduce distractions
- Launch apps from widgets
- Customizable widgets
- Custom wallpapers
Read full descriptionHide full description
Meet White Screen – the minimalist app launcher designed to transform your home screen into a clean, focused space for productivity. White Screen declutters your phone, reducing distractions and helping you spend less time doom scrolling. Instead, focus on what truly matters: your goals, well-being, and what brings you fulfillment. HOW DOES IT WORK? - Add your most-used apps to White Screen widgets. - Use our custom wallpapers to blend seamlessly with your screen elements. - Launch apps from White Screen widgets to keep your phone clutter-free. WHAT CAN I DO WITH IT? - Launch apps directly from White Screen widgets. - Customize the look and feel to make your home screen uniquely yours. WHITE SCREEN PREMIUM: White Screen offers a lifetime plan that unlocks full access to all features, including unlimited apps per widget, custom backgrounds, and shortcuts. Upgrade to White Screen Premium and declutter your screen even further. Feel free to consult our privacy policy here: https://astrochimp.framer.website/privacy and our terms of use here: https://astrochimp.framer.website/terms
Polanthos
This app helps you pause before opening distracting applications, encouraging intentional social media use and reducing mindless scrolling. It offers a mindful moment to decide if you truly want to proceed, with features like focus schedules and reclaimed time tracking.
- Mindful pause before app launch
- Focus schedules
- Gentle reminders
- Reclaimed time tracking
- Simple redirects
- Calm design
Read full descriptionHide full description
Polanthos helps you pause before opening distracting apps on your iPhone. It is for people who want to reduce automatic scrolling, use social media more intentionally, and spend less time getting pulled into apps like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, shopping, or entertainment apps. Instead of blocking everything completely, Polanthos adds a short mindful pause before selected apps open. In that moment, you can breathe, decide if you really want to continue, close the app, or redirect your attention to something better. Main features include app-based pauses, focus schedules, gentle reminders, reclaimed-time tracking, simple redirects, and a calm design with no ads, no social feed, and no shame-based dashboards. The app is free to use. A paid plan is optional and can be skipped. All features described in this listing are accessible without purchase. Terms (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://polanthos.com/privacy.txt
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Polanthos at every 2 days against White Screen's monthly. Polanthos also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). White Screen's advantage is ratings volume (200 vs 3) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. White Screen sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Polanthos sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Polanthos holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: White Screen has 200 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of White Screen's written reviews are positive against 100% of Polanthos's.
White Screen ships an update monthly, Polanthos every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | White Screen | Polanthos |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (200 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 86.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 200 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 77 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Astrochimp SRL | HAIYI NING |
Customer experience
White Screen
Polanthos
Bugs and requests
White Screen
Reported bugs
5 issues- White screen appears before opening apps
- Phone app shortcut is broken
- Some apps in the master list do not launch
- Widget not found in the list of widgets
- Error when trying to open the Phone app (default iOS)
Requested features
12 requests- Transparent background or custom gallery wallpaper
- Dark mode synced with wallpaper
- Spacer widgets for more app icons
- Ability to remove widget title
- Add Anki flashcard app shortcut
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Pure black theme option
- Option to create custom shortcuts
- App closes automatically after opening another app
- Fix for phone app shortcut bug
- Fix for widget not launching certain apps
- Fix for app dock visibility
- Fix for iOS 26 reflections
Polanthos
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
White Screen
- Whitescreen Lifetime Premium Plan$9.99
Polanthos
- Polanthos Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
- Polanthos Pro Yearly7 Days trial$17.991 Year
